OK. Maybe you would. But the lengths they have to go to to stock up for the winter *will* surprise you. When you see how carefully they arrange each acorn, you might just need to reorganize your pantry.
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DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe and meet extraordinary new friends. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.
* NEW VIDEOS EVERY OTHER TUESDAY! *
Have you ever wondered why woodpeckers pound so incessantly?
In the case of acorn woodpeckers – gregarious black and red birds in California’s oak forests – they’re building an intricate pantry, a massive, well-organized stockpile of thousands of acorns to carry them through the winter.
“They’re the only animals that I know of that store their acorns individually in holes in trees,” said biologist Walter Koenig, of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, who has studied acorn woodpeckers for decades at the University of California’s Hastings Natural History Reservation in Carmel Valley.
Over generations, acorn woodpeckers can drill thousands of small holes into one or several trees close to each other, giving these so-called granaries the appearance of Swiss cheese.
This sets them apart from other birds that drop acorns into already-existing cavities in trees, and animals like squirrels and jays that bury acorns in the ground.
In spring and summer, hikers in California commonly see acorn woodpeckers while the birds feed their chicks and care for their granaries. They don’t mind people staring at them and they’re easy to find. They greet each other with loud cries that sound like “waka-waka-waka.”
They’re also found in Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, and all the way south to Colombia.
These avian performers are constantly tapping, drilling and pounding at their granaries.
“They’ll usually have a central granary, maybe two trees that a group is using,” said Koenig. “Those trees are going to be close together.”
Acorn woodpeckers make their granaries in pines, oaks, sycamores, redwoods and even in the palm trees on the Stanford University campus.
Their holes rarely hurt the trees. The birds only bore into the bark, where there’s no sap, or they make their granaries in snags.
“They don’t want sap in the hole because it will cause the acorn to rot,” said Koenig. “The point of storing the acorns is that it protects them from other animals getting them and it allows them to dry out.”
--- What is an acorn?
It’s the fruit of the oak.
--- Do acorn woodpeckers only eat acorns?
In the spring, acorn woodpeckers have their choice of food. They catch insects, eat oak flowers and suck the sap out of shallow holes on trees like coast live oaks.
---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:
https://www.kqed.org/science/1925251/youd-never-guess-what-an-acorn-woodpecker-eats
---+ For more information:
Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Acorn_Woodpecker/overview
---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:
What Gall! The Crazy Cribs of Parasitic Wasps
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOgP5NzcTuA
How Ticks Dig in With a Mouth Full of Hooks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IoOJu2_FKE
Why is the Hungry Caterpillar So Dang Hungry?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=el_lPd2oFV4
---+ See some great videos and documentaries from PBS Digital Studios!
Eons: Why Triassic Animals Were Just the Weirdest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moxu_uTemNg
Physics Girl: Why this skateboarding trick should be IMPOSSIBLE ft. Rodney Mullen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFRPhi0jhGc
---+ Follow KQED Science and Deep Look:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kqedscience/
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KQED Science on kqed.org: http://www.kqed.org/science
Facebook Watch: https://www.facebook.com/DeepLookPBS/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/deeplook
---+ About KQED
KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, radio and web media.
Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is supported by the Templeton Religion Trust and the Templeton World Charity Foundation, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Fuhs Family Foundation Fund and the members of KQED.

With rows of Dr. Seuss-like flowers hidden deep inside, the corpse flower plays dead to lure some unusual pollinators.
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DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe and meet extraordinary new friends. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.
* NEW VIDEOS EVERY OTHER TUESDAY! *
For a plant that emits an overpowering stench of rotting carcass, you’d think the corpse flower would have a PR problem.
But it’s quite the opposite: Anytime a corpse flower opens up at a botanical garden somewhere in the world visitors flock to catch a whiff and get a glimpse of the giant plant, which can grow up to 10 feet tall when it blooms and generally only does so every two to 10 years.
A corpse flower’s whole survival strategy is based on deception. It’s not a flower and it’s not a rotting dead animal, but it mimics both. Pollination remains out of sight, deep within the plant. KQED’s Deep Look staff was able to film inside a corpse flower, revealing the rarely-seen moment when the plant’s male flowers release glistening strings of pollen.
It’s not that the corpse flower is the only plant to attract pollinators like flies and beetles by putting out bad smells. Nor is it the only one that produces male and female flowers at the same time.
“The fact that it does all of this at this outsized scale – all of this together – is what’s so unique about it, biologically,” said Pati Vitt, senior scientist at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
When a titan arum is ready to flower, a stalk starts to grow out of the soil. Once it has reached four to 10 feet, a red “skirt” unfurls. Though it has the appearance of a petal, it’s really a modified leaf called a spathe that looks like a raw steak.
The yellow stalk underneath is called the spadix and it gives the plant its scientific name, Amorphophallus titanum, or roughly “giant deformed phallus.”
In its native Sumatra, the corpse flower opens for only 24 hours. In captivity, it often lasts longer. With just a day to reproduce, the stakes are high.
--- How many chemicals make up the smell of the corpse flower?
More than 30 chemicals make up the scent of the corpse flower, according to the 2017 paper “Studies on the floral anatomy and scent chemistry of titan arum” by researchers at the University of Mississippi, University of Florida, Gainsville, and Anadolu University in Turkey:
http://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/botany/issues/bot-17-41-1/bot-41-1-6-1604-34.pdf
Some of the chemicals have a pleasant scent. But mostly, the corpse flower at first smells like funky cheese and rotting garlic, as a result of sulphur-smelling compounds. Hours later, the stink changes to what Vanessa Handley, at the University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley describes as “dead rat in the walls of your house.”
---+ Read the entire article:
https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2018/01/23/this-giant-plant-looks-like-raw-meat-and-smells-like-dead-rat/
---+ For more information:
Great illustration on the lifecycle of the corpse flower by the Chicago Botanic Garden:
https://www.chicagobotanic.org/titan/faq
University of California Davis Botanical Conservatory:
http://greenhouse.ucdavis.edu/conservatory/
---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:
This Mushroom Starts Killing You Before You Even Realize It
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl9aCH2QaQY
A Real Alien Invasion Is Coming to a Palm Tree Near You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6a3Q5DzeBM
---+ See some great videos and documentaries from PBS Digital Studios!
It’s Okay To Be Smart: How to Figure Out the Day of the Week For Any Date Ever
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=714LTMNJy5M
Above The Noise: Can Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes Help Fight Disease?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB_h7aheAEM
---+ Follow KQED Science:
KQED Science: http://www.kqed.org/science
Tumblr: http://kqedscience.tumblr.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kqedscience
---+ About KQED
KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, radio and web media.
Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is supported by the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Fuhs Family Foundation Fund and the members of KQED.

Because it's hoarding protein. Not just for itself, but for the butterfly it will become and every egg that butterfly will lay. And it's about to lose its mouth... as it wriggles out of its skin during metamorphosis.
DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe and meet extraordinary new friends. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.
* NEW VIDEOS EVERY OTHER TUESDAY! *
That caterpillar in your backyard is chewing through your best leaves for a good reason.
“Caterpillars have to store up incredible reserves of proteins,” said Carol Boggs, an ecologist at the University of South Carolina. “Nectar doesn’t have much protein. Most of the protein that goes to making eggs has to come from larval feeding.”
Caterpillars are the larval stage of a butterfly. Their complete transformation to pupa and then to butterfly is a strategy called holometaboly. Humans are in the minority among animals in that we don’t go through these very distinct, almost separate, lives. We start out as a smaller version of ourselves and grow bigger.
But from an evolutionary point of view, the way butterflies transform make sense.
“You have a larva that is an eating machine,” said Boggs. “It’s very well-suited to that. Then you’re turning it into a reproduction machine, the butterfly.”
Once it becomes a butterfly it will lose its mouth, grow a straw in its place and go on a liquid diet of sugary nectar and rotten fruit juices. Its main job will be to mate and lay eggs. Those eggs started to develop while it was a pupa, using protein that the caterpillar stored by gorging on leaves. We think of leaves as carbohydrates, but the nitrogen they contain makes them more than one quarter protein, said Boggs.
-- What are the stages of a butterfly?
Insects such as butterflies undergo a complete transformation, referred to by scientists as holometaboly. A holometabolous insect has a morphology in the juvenile state which is different from that in the adult and which undergoes a period of reorganization between the two, said Boggs. The four life stages are egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (also known as chrysalis) and butterfly.
-- What if humans developed like butterflies?
“We’d go into a quiescent period when we developed different kind of eating organs and sensory organs,” said Boggs. “It would be as if we went into a pupa and developed straws as mouths and developed more elaborate morphology for smelling and developed wings. It brings up science fiction images.”
---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:
https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2017/07/11/why-is-the-very-hungry-caterpillar-so-dang-hungry/
---+ For more information:
Monarch Watch: http://www.monarchwatch.org
California Pipevine Swallowtail Project:
https://www.facebook.com/CaliforniaPipevineSwallowtail/
A forum organized by Tim Wong, who cares for the butterflies in the California Academy of Sciences’ rainforest exhibit. Wong’s page has beautiful photos and videos of California pipevine swallowtail butterflies at every stage – caterpillar, pupa and butterfly – and tips to create native butterfly habitat.
---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:
What Gives the Morpho Butterfly Its Magnificent Blue?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29Ts7CsJDpg
This Vibrating Bumblebee Unlocks a Flower's Hidden Treasure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZrTndD1H10
Roly Polies Came From the Sea to Conquer the Earth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sj8pFX9SOXE
In the Race for Life, Which Human Embryos Make It?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mv_kuwQvoc
---+ See some great videos and documentaries from the PBS Digital Studios!
PBS Eons: When Did the First Flower Bloom?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13aUo5fEjNY
CrashCourse: The History of Life on Earth - Crash Course Ecology #1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjE-Pkjp3u4
---+ Follow KQED Science:
KQED Science: http://www.kqed.org/science
Tumblr: http://kqedscience.tumblr.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kqedscience
---+ About KQED
KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media.
Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is also supported by HopeLab, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED.

During the highest tides, California grunion stampede out of the ocean to mate on the beach. When the party's over, thousands of tiny eggs are left stranded up in the sand. How will their lost babies make it back to the sea?
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DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.
* NEW VIDEOS EVERY OTHER TUESDAY! *
With summer just around the corner, Southern California beaches are ready to welcome the yearly arrival of some very unique and amorous guests. That’s right, the grunion are running!
California grunion are fish that spend their lives in the ocean. But when the tides are at their highest during spring and summer, grunion make a trip up onto beaches to mate and lay eggs.
Grunion mate on beaches throughout southern California and down into into Mexico. The grunion runs have taken on a special importance to coastal communities Santa Barbara to San Diego.
For some, coming out to see the grunion run has been an annual tradition for generations. For others it’s a rare chance to catch ocean fish with their bare hands.
--- What are grunion?
California grunion are schooling fish similar to sardines that live in the Pacific Ocean that emerge from the sea to lay their eggs on the sand of beaches in Southern California and down the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. There are also smaller populations in Monterey Bay and San Francisco Bay. Another species, the Gulf Grunion lays their eggs in the northern shores of the Gulf of California. California Grunion are typically about six inches in length.
--- Why do grunion mate on land?
The ocean is full of predators who would like to gobble up a tasty fish egg. The grunion eggs tend to be safer up on the beach if they can make it there without raising the attention of predators like birds and raccoons. Grunion eggs have a tough outer layer that keeps them from drying out or being crushed by the sand.
--- When do California grunion run?
California grunion typically spawn from March to August. The fishing season is closed during the peak spawning times during May and June. See https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/fishing/ocean/grunion#28352306-2017-runs for more detailed info on grunion seasons.
---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:
https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2017/06/06/these-fish-are-all-about-sex-on-the-beach-deep-look/
---+ For more information:
http://www.grunion.org/
---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:
Sea Urchins Pull Themselves Inside Out to be Reborn | Deep Look
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak2xqH5h0YY
Sticky. Stretchy. Waterproof. The Amazing Underwater Tape of the Caddisfly | Deep Look
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3BHrzDHoYo
The Amazing Life of Sand | Deep Look
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkrQ9QuKprE&list=PLdKlciEDdCQDxBs0SZgTMqhszst1jqZhp&index=51
---+ See some great videos and documentaries from the PBS Digital Studios!
How Much Plastic is in the Ocean? | It's Okay To Be Smart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFZS3Vh4lfI
White Sand Beaches Are Made of Fish Poop | Gross Science
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SfxgY1dIM4
What Physics Teachers Get Wrong About Tides! | Space Time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwChk4S99i4
---+ Follow KQED Science:
KQED Science: http://www.kqed.org/science
Tumblr: http://kqedscience.tumblr.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kqedscience
---+ About KQED
KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate based in San Francisco, serves the people of Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial media. Home to one of the most listened-to public radio station in the nation, one of the highest-rated public television services and an award-winning education program, KQED is also a leader and innovator in interactive media and technology, taking people of all ages on journeys of exploration — exposing them to new people, places and ideas.
Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is also supported by HopeLab, the David B. Gold Foundation, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED.

When you live by the seashore, one day you're in, the next day you're lunch. So these crabs don the latest in seaweed outerwear and anemone accessories to blend in.
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DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe and meet extraordinary new friends. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.
* NEW VIDEOS EVERY OTHER TUESDAY! *
As fans of the hit TV show Project Runway know, in fashion one day you’re in, and the next day you’re out. Nowhere is this truer than in the animal kingdom. One minute you’re a crab minding your own business in a tide pool, and the next, you’re a seagull’s snack.
Unless you’re a decorator crab, that is, and you use this season’s seaweed to save your life.
There are nearly 700 species of decorator crabs around the world – about a dozen of them in California, where they live in tide pools and kelp forests. They camouflage by decorating their heads, or their entire bodies depending on the species, with pieces of seaweed, anemones or other materials around them, which they attach securely to a natural Velcro that grows right on their bodies.
“It’s not a glue or anything; they have these hooked hairs all over their shells,” said biologist Jay Stachowicz, who studies decorator crabs at the University of California, Davis. “Through microscope photography we can see that it looks just like Velcro, except probably even better, even more hooked.”
These golden-colored hairs are thick and curled to form long rows. Some species of decorator crabs have these rows of hooked hairs only on their heads; others, on their entire bodies.
At his lab at UC Davis’ Bodega Marine Lab in Bodega Bay, Stachowicz collects crabs off the coast, places them in tanks, gives them some seaweed and watches them go to work.
The process is more exciting than watching Project Runway contestants create their confections, if you consider that the crabs are making it work with much more simple tools than the designers. And the stakes are much higher.
--- How does a decorator crab camouflage?
A pink Cryptic kelp crab, for example, cuts a piece of purple seaweed with one of its claws.
Then the crab holds the piece of seaweed above its head, the only part of its body where it has hooked hairs. It moves the piece of seaweed back and forth, until it’s tightly wedged inside the hooks. Then it repeats the process. The result is a “hat” of bushy seaweed that protrudes beyond its head.
With the seaweed, the crab is concealing two of its four antennae, short protuberances near its mouth. These antennae are constantly aflutter. The crab uses them to smell, and they could call the attention of predators even when the crab remains still. By hiding the movement of the antennae, the seaweed visor protects the crab from birds pecking around in the tide pools and aquatic predators like fish and octopuses.
--- What is Tim Gunn’s most famous quote?
The beloved advisor to contestants of Project Runway has many memorable phrases. But we’re pretty confident that one of his best-known sayings is “Make it work!”
---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:
https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2017/05/09/decorator-crabs-make-high-fashion-at-low-tide/
---+ For more information:
Jay Stachowicz Lab at the University of California, Davis:
http://www.eve.ucdavis.edu/stachowicz/research.shtml
---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:
Sticky. Stretchy. Waterproof. The Amazing Underwater Tape of the Caddisfly
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3BHrzDHoYo
Pygmy Seahorses: Masters of Camouflage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3CtGoqz3ww
Watch These Frustrated Squirrels Go Nuts!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUjQtJGaSpk
---+ See some great videos and documentaries from the PBS Digital Studios!
Above The Noise: Why Do Our Brains Love Fake News?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNmwvntMF5A&index=1&list=PL1mtdjDVOoOqJzeaJAV15Tq0tZ1vKj7ZV
Braincraft: Do You Own Your Cells?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIFTIYZrm0g&list=PL1mtdjDVOoOqJzeaJAV15Tq0tZ1vKj7ZV&index=4
---+ Follow KQED Science:
KQED Science: http://www.kqed.org/science
Tumblr: http://kqedscience.tumblr.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kqedscience
---+ About KQED
KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, California, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, radio and web media.
Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is also supported by HopeLab, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED.

Brown pelicans hit the water at breakneck speed when they catch fish. Performing such dangerous plunges requires technique, equipment, and 30 million years of practice.
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DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe and meet extraordinary new friends. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.
* NEW VIDEOS EVERY OTHER TUESDAY! *
California’s brown pelicans are one of two pelican species (once considered the same) that plunge from the air to hunt. The rest, like the white pelican, bob for fish at the water’s surface.
The shape of its bill is essential to the birds' survival in these dives, reducing “hydrodynamic drag” — buckling forces, caused by the change from air to water — to almost zero. It’s something like the difference between slapping the water with your palm and chopping it, karate-style.
And while all birds have light, air-filled bones, pelican skeletons take it to an extreme. As they dive, they inflate special air sacs around their neck and belly, cushioning their impact and allowing them to float.
Even their celebrated pouches play a role. An old limerick quips, “A remarkable bird is a pelican / Its beak can hold more than its belly can…” That beak is more than just a fishing net. It’s also a parachute that pops open underwater, helping to slow the bird down.
Behind the pelican’s remarkable resilience (and beaks) lies 30 million years of evolutionary stasis, meaning they haven’t changed much over time.
--- What do pelicans eat?
Pelicans eat small fish like anchovies, sardines, and smelt.
--- How long to pelicans live?
Pelicans live 15-25 years in the wild.
--- How big are pelicans?
Brown pelicans are small for pelicans, but still big for birds, with a 6-8 foot wingspan. Their average weight is 3.5 kg.
---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:
https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2017/04/25/volunteer-brown-pelican-count-aims-to-measure-recovery-of-once-endangered-birds/
---+ For more information:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife brown pelican page
https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp0/profile/speciesProfile?spcode=B02L
---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:
The Fantastic Fur of Sea Otters
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxqg_um1TXI
How Do Sharks and Rays Use Electricity to Find Hidden Prey?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDPFR6n8tAQ
---+ See some great videos and documentaries from the PBS Digital Studios!
Physics Girl: Why Outlets Spark When Unplugging
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1Ld8D2bnJM
Gross Science: Everything You Didn’t Want to Know About Snot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shEPwQPQG4I
---+ Follow KQED Science:
KQED Science: http://www.kqed.org/science
Tumblr: http://kqedscience.tumblr.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kqedscience
---+ About KQED
KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media.
Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is also supported by HopeLab, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED.

We've all heard that each and every snowflake is unique. But in a lab in sunny southern California, a physicist has learned to control the way snowflakes grow. Can he really make twins?
SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt
DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.
* NEW VIDEOS EVERY OTHER TUESDAY! *
California's historic drought is finally over thanks largely to a relentless parade of powerful storms that have brought the Sierra Nevada snowpack to the highest level in six years, and guaranteed skiing into June. All that snow spurs an age-old question -- is every snowflake really unique?
“It’s one of these questions that’s been around forever,” said Ken Libbrecht, a professor of physics at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. “I think we all learn it in elementary school, the old saying that no two snowflakes are alike.”
--- How do snowflakes form?
Snow crystals form when humid air is cooled to the point that molecules of water vapor start sticking to each other. In the clouds, crystals usually start forming around a tiny microscopic dust particle, but if the water vapor gets cooled quickly enough the crystals can form spontaneously out of water molecules alone. Over time, more water molecules stick to the crystal until it gets heavy enough to fall.
--- Why do snowflakes have six arms?
Each water molecule is each made out of one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms. As vapor, the water molecules bounce around slamming into each other. As the vapor cools, the hydrogen atom of one molecule forms a bond with the oxygen of another water molecule. This is called a hydrogen bond. These bonds make the water molecules stick together in the shape of a hexagonal ring. As the crystal grows, more molecules join fitting within that same repeating pattern called a crystal array. The crystal keeps the hexagonal symmetry as it grows.
--- Is every snowflake unique?
Snowflakes develop into different shapes depending on the humidity and temperature conditions they experience at different times during their growth. In nature, snowflakes don’t travel together. Instead, each takes it’s own path through the clouds experiencing different conditions at different times. Since each crystal takes a different path, they each turn out slightly differently. Growing snow crystals in laboratory is a whole other story.
---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:
https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2017/04/11/identical-snowflakes-scientist-ruins-winter-for-everyone-deep-look/
---+ For more information:
Ken Libbrecht’s online guide to snowflakes, snow crystals and other ice phenomena.
http://snowcrystals.com/
---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:
Can A Thousand Tiny Swarming Robots Outsmart Nature? | Deep Look
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDsmbwOrHJs
What Gives the Morpho Butterfly Its Magnificent Blue? | Deep Look
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29Ts7CsJDpg&list=PLdKlciEDdCQDxBs0SZgTMqhszst1jqZhp&index=48
The Amazing Life of Sand | Deep Look
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkrQ9QuKprE&list=PLdKlciEDdCQDxBs0SZgTMqhszst1jqZhp&index=51
The Hidden Perils of Permafrost | Deep Look
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxABO84gol8
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The Science of Snowflakes | It’s OK to be Smart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUot7XSX8uA
An Infinite Number of Words for Snow | PBS Idea Channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX6i2M4AoZw
Is an Ice Age Coming? | Space Time | PBS Digital Studios
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztninkgZ0ws
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---+ About KQED
KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media.
Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is also supported by HopeLab, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED.

Thanks to The Great Courses Plus for sponsoring this episode of Deep Look. Try a 30 day trial of The Great Course Plus at http://ow.ly/7QYH309wSOL. If you liked this episode, you might be interested in their course “Major Transitions in Evolution”.
POW! BAM! Fruit flies battling like martial arts masters are helping scientists map brain circuits. This research could shed light on human aggression and depression.
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DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.
* NEW VIDEOS EVERY OTHER TUESDAY! *
Neuroscientist Eric Hoopfer likes to watch animals fight. But these aren’t the kind of fights that could get him arrested – no roosters or pit bulls are involved.
Hoopfer watches fruit flies.
The tiny insects are the size of a pinhead, with big red eyes and iridescent wings. You’ve probably only seen them flying around an overripe piece of fruit.
At the California Institute of Technology, in Pasadena, Hoopfer places pairs of male fruit flies in tiny glass chambers. When they start fighting, they look like martial arts practitioners: They stand face to face and tip each other over; they lunge, roll around and even toss each other, sumo-wrestler style.
But this isn’t about entertainment. Hoopfer is trying to understand how the brain works.
When the aggressive fruit flies at Caltech fight, Hoopfer and his colleagues monitor what parts of their brains the flies are using. The researchers can see clusters of neurons lighting up. In the future, they hope this can help our understanding of conditions that tap into human emotional states, like depression or addiction.
“Flies when they fight, they fight at different intensities. And once they start fighting they continue fighting for a while; this state persists. These are all things that are similar to (human) emotional states,” said Hoopfer. “For example, there’s this scale of emotions where you can be a little bit annoyed and that can scale up to being very angry. If somebody cuts you off in traffic you might get angry and that lasts for a little while. So your emotion lasts longer than the initial stimulus.”
Circuits in our brains that make us stay mad, for example, could hold the key to developing better treatments for mental illness.
“All these neuro-psychiatric disorders, like depression, addiction, schizophrenia, the drugs that we have to treat them, we don’t really understand exactly how they are acting at the level of circuits in the brain,” said Hoopfer. “They help in some cases the symptoms that you want to treat. But they also cause a lot of side effects. So what we’d ideally like are drugs that can act on the specific neurons and circuits in the brain that are responsible for depression and for the symptoms of depression that we want to treat, and not ones that control other things.”
--- What do fruit flies eat?
In the lab, researchers feed fruit flies yeast and apple juice.
--- How do I get rid of fruit flies in my house?
Fruit flies are attracted to ripe fruit and vegetables.
---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:
https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2017/03/28/these-fighting-fruit-flies-are-superheroes-of-brain-science/
---+ For more information:
The David Anderson Lab at Caltech:
https://davidandersonlab.caltech.edu/
---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:
How Mosquitoes Use Six Needles to Suck Your Blood
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD8SmacBUcU
Meet the Dust Mites, Tiny Roommates That Feast On Your Skin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACrLMtPyRM0
---+ See some great videos and documentaries from the PBS Digital Studios!
It’s Okay To Be Smart: Why Your Brain Is In Your Head
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdNE4WygyAk
BrainCraft: Can You Solve This Dilemma?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xHKxrc0PHg
---+ Follow KQED Science:
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The Great Courses Plus is currently available to watch through a web browser to almost anyone in the world and optimized for the US market. The Great Courses Plus is currently working to both optimize the product globally and accept credit card payments globally.
---+ About KQED
KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, California, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, radio and web media.
Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is also supported by HopeLab, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED.

Besides being hermaphrodites — all snails have both boy and girl parts — they stab each other with “love darts” as a kind of foreplay.
SURVEY LINK: http://surveymonkey.com/r/pbsds2017
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DEEP LOOK: a new ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe and meet extraordinary new friends. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.
The sex life of the common snail is anything but ordinary.
First, they’re hermaphrodites, fitted with both male and female reproductive plumbing, and can mate with any member of their species they want.
Sounds easy, but the battle of the sexes is alive and well in gastropods.
In nature, fatherhood is easier. It’s the quickest, cheapest way to pass on your genes. Motherhood requires a much greater investment of time, energy, and resources.
During courtship, the snails will decide who gets to be more father than mother. But their idea of courtship is to stab each other with a tiny spike called a love dart.
The love dart is the snails’ tool for maximizing their male side. It injects hormones to prevent the other snail’s body from killing newly introduced sperm once copulation begins.
When snails copulate, two penises enter two vaginal tracts. Both snails in the pairing transfer sperm, but whichever snail got in the best shot with the dart has a better chance of ultimately fertilizing eggs.
In some species, only one snail fires a love dart, but in others, like the garden snail, both do.
You can spot love darts sticking out of snails in mid-courtship, and even find them abandoned in slime puddles where mating has been happening.
Scale it up to human size and the love dart would be the equivalent of a 15-inch knife.
--- How common is hermaphroditism?
Less than one percent of animal species are hermaphrodites. They’re most common among arthropods, the phylum of life that includes snails.
--- How do hermaphrodites decide who’s going to the male and female?
In most cases, both individuals will be both male and female, to some extent. Sometimes, like with garden snails, it’s a question of degree.
--- Can a love dart kill the snail?
In theory yes, but not very often. One researcher told us that in the thousands of matings he’s observed, he’s seen only one snail die that way.
---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:
https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2017/03/14/everything-you-never-wanted-to-know-about-snail-sex/
---+ For more information:
Visit Joris Koene’s site. He’s one of the world’s foremost snail and slug researchers: http://www.joriskoene.com/
---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:
Banana Slugs: Secret of the Slime
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHvCQSGanJg
The Ladybug Love-In: A Valentine's Special
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-Z6xRexbIU
---+ See some great videos and documentaries from the PBS Digital Studios!
Gross Science: Help a Snail Find True Love!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vfkb2XyswJY
4 Valentine's Day Tips From the Animal World!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lMa9CYG3SU
---+ Follow KQED Science:
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---+ About KQED
KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media.
Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is also supported by HopeLab, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED. education

It's not vanity. For cats, staying clean is a matter of life and death. And their tongue, specially equipped for the job, is just one of the things that makes cats such successful predators.
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* NEW VIDEOS EVERY OTHER TUESDAY! *
Even after thousands of years sharing our homes, cats still remain mysterious. For one thing, they spend an inordinate amount of time grooming themselves, up to half of their waking hours.
But all of that primping isn’t about vanity. For ambush predators like cats, staying clean is a matter of life and death.
In this episode of Deep Look we get up close and personal with these fastidious felines. By looking closely at cat tongues, research at MIT and Georgia Tech reveals clues to cats’ predatory prowess and finds inspiration for new technologies.
--- Why do cat’s tongues feel like sandpaper?
Cats’ tongues are covered in little spines called “papillae” that look like tiny hooks. Cats use their tongues to groom and the spines do a great job of detangling knots.
--- Why do cats spend so much time grooming?
Cat’s spend much of their day cleaning themselves- up to half of their waking hours! Cats are ambush predators and they need to stay clean in order to remain hidden from their prey. Prey species tend to be on the lookout for danger, and one whiff of the wrong odor can give the cat away.
--- Why do cats drink with their tongues?
Like most other mammals that are predators, cats have wide mouths to help them sink their teeth deep into their prey. The large opening on the sides of their mouth helps them get a better bite, but it makes it hard for them to create suction in order to drink. Instead they use their tongue to draw water up from the surface into a column. They then bite the column to get the water. They usually lap about four times per second.
---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:
https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2017/02/28/why-does-your-cats-tongue-feel-like-sandpaper/
---+ For more information:
How Cats Lap: Water Uptake by Felis catus
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/330/6008/1231
---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:
If Your Hands Could Smell, You’d Be an Octopus | Deep Look
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXMxihOh8ps
Archerfish Says..."I Spit in Your Face!" | Deep Look
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN81dtxilhE
Roly Polies Came From the Sea to Conquer the Earth | Deep Look
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sj8pFX9SOXE
---+ See some great videos and documentaries from the PBS Digital Studios!
Pigeon Story: How the Rock Dove Became the Sky Rat | It’s OK to be Smart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8Y7Q1eja-E
Everything is Trying to Kill You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LB8SqTwT93E
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---+ About KQED
KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media.
Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is also supported by HopeLab, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED.

Those hundreds of powerful suckers on octopus arms do more than just stick. They actually smell and taste. This contributes to a massive amount of information for the octopus’s brain to process, so octopuses depend on their eight arms for help. (And no, it's not 'octopi.')
To keep up with Amy Standen, subscribe to her podcast The Leap - a podcast about people making dramatic, risky changes:
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DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.
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Everyone knows that an octopus has eight arms. And similar to our arms it uses them to grab things and move around. But that’s where the similarities end. Hundreds of suckers on each octopus arm give them abilities people can only dream about.
“The suckers are hands that also smell and taste,” said Rich Ross, senior biologist and octopus aquarist at the California Academy of Sciences.
Suckers are “very similar to our taste buds, from what little we know about them,” said University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, cephalopod biologist William Kier.
If these tasting, smelling suckers make you think of a human hand with a tongue and a nose stuck to it, that’s a good start. It all stems from the unique challenges an octopus faces as a result of having a flexible, soft body.
“This animal has no protection and is a wonderful meal because it’s all muscle,” said Kier.
So the octopus has adapted over time. It has about 500 million neurons (dogs have around 600 million), the cells that allow it to process and communicate information. And these neurons are distributed to make the most of its eight arms. An octopus’ central brain – located between its eyes – doesn’t control its every move. Instead, two thirds of the animal’s neurons are in its arms.
“It’s more efficient to put the nervous cells in the arm,” said neurobiologist Binyamin Hochner, of Hebrew University, in Jerusalem. “The arm is a brain of its own.”
This enables octopus arms to operate somewhat independently from the animal’s central brain. The central brain tells the arms in what direction and how fast to move, but the instructions on how to reach are embedded in each arm.
Octopuses have also evolved mechanisms that allow their muscles to move without the use of a skeleton. This same muscle arrangement enables elephant trunks and mammals’ tongues to unfurl.
“The arrangement of the muscle in your tongue is similar to the arrangement in the octopus arm,” said Kier.
In an octopus arm, muscles are arranged in different directions. When one octopus muscle contracts, it’s able to stretch out again because other muscles oriented in a different direction offer resistance – just as the bones in vertebrate bodies do. This skeleton of muscle, called a muscular hydrostat, is how an octopus gets its suckers to attach to different surfaces.
--- How many suction cups does an octopus have on each arm?
It depends on the species. Giant Pacific octopuses have up to 240 suckers on each arm.
--- Do octopuses have arms or tentacles?
Octopuses have arms, not tentacles. “The term ‘tentacle’ is used for lots of fleshy protuberances in invertebrates,” said Kier. “It just happens that the eight in octopuses are called arms.”
--- Can octopuses regrow a severed arm?
Yes!
---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:
https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2017/02/14/if-your-hands-could-smell-youd-be-an-octopus/
---+ For more information:
The octopus research group at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN81dtxilhE
---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:
You're Not Hallucinating. That's Just Squid Skin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wtLrlIKvJE
Watch These Frustrated Squirrels Go Nuts!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUjQtJGaSpk
---+ See some great videos and documentaries from the PBS Digital Studios!
It’s Okay To Be Smart: Is This A NEW SPECIES?!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asZ8MYdDXNc
BrainCraft: Your Brain in Numbers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFcbnf07QZ4
---+ Follow KQED Science:
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---+ About KQED
KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media.
Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is also supported by HopeLab, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED.

The archerfish hunts by spitting water at terrestrial targets with weapon-like precision, and can even tell human faces apart. Is this fish smarter than it looks?
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DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe and meet extraordinary new friends. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.
* NEW VIDEOS EVERY OTHER TUESDAY! *
Humans always have assumed we’ve cornered the market on intelligence. But because of archerfish and other bright lights in the animal kingdom, that idea is itself evolving.
Archerfish normally make their living in the mangrove forests of Southeast Asia and Australia, where they spit water at ants, beetles and other insects living on the trees’ half-submerged roots. The fish’s high-pressure projectiles knock prey from their perches into the water, and the fish swoops in.
This novel feeding behavior, restricted to only seven species of fish, has attracted the attention of researchers ever since it was first described in 1764.
The jet’s tip and tail unite at the moment of impact, which is critical to the success of the attack, especially as the target distance approaches the limit of the fish’s maximum spitting range of about six feet. The fish accomplishes this feat of timing through deliberate control of its highly-evolved mouthparts, in particular its lips, which act like an adjustable hose that can expand and contract while releasing the water.
So in a way, to hit a target that’s further away, the fish doesn’t spit harder. It spits smarter. But just how smart is an archerfish?
Using the archerfish’s spitting habits as a starting point, one researcher trained some lab fish to spit at an image of one human face with food rewards. Then, on a monitor suspended over the fish tank, she showed them a series of other faces, in pairs, adding in the familiar one.
When the trained fish saw that familiar face, they would spit, to a high degree of accuracy. In a sense, the fish “recognized” the face, which should have been beyond the capacity of its primitive brain.
--- Where do archerfish live?
In Thailand, Australia, and other parts of Southeast Asia, usually in mangrove forests.
--- What do archerfish eat?
Insects and spiders that live close to the waterline. Archerfish won’t eat anything once it’s sinks too far below the surface.
--- How do archerfish spit?
They squeeze water through their mouth opening, using specially evolved mouthparts.
---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:
https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2017/01/31/archerfish-says-i-spit-in-your-face/
---+ For more information:
Visit the California Academy of Sciences: http://www.calacademy.org/
---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:
Sea Urchins Pull Themselves Inside Out to be Reborn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak2xqH5h0YY
Sticky. Stretchy. Waterproof. The Amazing Underwater Tape of the Caddisfly
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3BHrzDHoYo
---+ See some great videos and documentaries from the PBS Digital Studios!
Gross Science: Sea Cucumbers Have Multipurpose Butts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjnvRKDdaWY
Physics Girl: DIY Lightning Experiment! Make a SHOCKING Capacitor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG7N_Zv6_gQ
---+ Follow KQED Science:
KQED Science: http://www.kqed.org/science
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Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kqedscience
---+ About KQED
KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media.
Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is also supported by HopeLab, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED.

Pill bugs. Doodle bugs. Potato bugs. Wood Shrimp. Whatever you call them, there’s something less creepy about these critters than other insects. Maybe it’s because they’re not insects at all.
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DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.
* NEW VIDEOS EVERY OTHER TUESDAY! *
With winter rains, Bay Area pill bugs are out in force. Fortunately, they’re one of our most beloved “bugs.” Pill bugs. Doodle bugs. Potato bugs. Wood Shrimp. Whatever you call them, there’s something less creepy about these critters than other insects. Maybe it’s because they’re not insects at all.
Pill bugs are more closely related to a shrimp and lobsters than crickets or butterflies. Their ancestors lived in the sea, but ancient pill bugs crawled out millions of years ago to carve a life for themselves on dry land.
You can see the evidence if you take a close look at them, so that’s exactly what we did for this episode of Deep Look, an ultra-high definition wildlife video series produced by KQED and PBS DIgital Studios.
“Kids love them,” said Jonathan Wright, a professor of biology at Pomona College who studies the charismatic creepy-crawlies. After all, who hasn’t delighted as a youth in annoying a pill bug until it defensively curls up into a little armored ball?
Some adventurous foragers even eat pill bugs. Their flavor is said to resemble other crustaceans, earning pill bugs the moniker “wood shrimp”.
“I personally haven’t tasted one,” said Wright, “but I’ve spoken to people that have. They didn’t get a particularly high approval rating. Pill bugs have a lot of soil in their gut.”
They may not be ready to replace shrimp as an appetizer, but according to Wright, the evidence of the pill bug’s evolutionary lineage lies underneath its shell.
--- What are pill bugs related to?
Pill bugs are terrestrial crustaceans. They’re more closely related to marine creatures like lobsters and shrimp than crickets or other insects.
--- If pill bugs have gills, can they survive underwater?
Most pill bugs will drown within a few hours if submerged because their pleopod gills have become better at removing oxygen from air and less good at removing oxygen from water
--- Why do pill bugs roll into a ball?
Pill bugs roll into a ball to protect themselves from potential predators. They will also roll up, a process called conglobation, to keep from drying out if they don’t have access to enough moisture.
--- What do pill bugs eat?
Pill bugs mostly eat decaying plant matter but also consume fungus, algae and lichens.
---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:
https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2017/01/17/roly-polies-came-from-the-sea-to-conquer-the-earth-deep-look/
---+ For more information:
Respiratory physiology of the Oniscidea: Aerobic capacity and the significance of pleopodal lungs. Jonathan C. Wright and Kevin Ting
---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:
The Double-Crossing Ants to Whom Friendship Means Nothing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fguo3HvWjb0
The Snail-Smashing, Fish-Spearing, Eye-Popping Mantis Shrimp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lm1ChtK9QDU
These Termites Turn Your House into a Palace of Poop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYPQ1Tjp0ew&t=83s
---+ See some great videos and documentaries from the PBS Digital Studios!
A Venus Flytrap Works Just Like Your Brain | Brain Craft
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0prAxQTuAA
What are antibubbles? | Physics Girl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5UMyck8D64
---+ Follow KQED Science:
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---+ About KQED
KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media.
Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is also supported by HopeLab, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED.

What if you had to grow 20 pounds of bone on your forehead each year just to find a mate? In a bloody, itchy process, males of the deer family grow a new set of antlers every year, use them to fend off the competition, and lose their impressive crowns when breeding season ends.
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DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.
* WE’RE TAKING A BREAK FOR THE HOLIDAYS. WATCH OUR NEXT EPISODE ON JAN. 17, 2017. *
Antlers are bones that grow right out of an animal’s head. It all starts with little knobs called pedicles. Reindeer, elk, and their relatives in the cervid family, like moose and deer, are born with them. But in most species pedicles only sprout antlers in males, because antlers require testosterone.
The little antlers of a young tule elk, or a reindeer, are called spikes. Every year, a male grows a slightly larger set of antlers, until he becomes a “senior” and the antlers start to shrink.
While it’s growing, the bone is hidden by a fuzzy layer of skin and fur called velvet that carries blood rich in calcium and phosphorous to build up the bone inside.
When the antlers get hard, the blood stops flowing and the velvet cracks. It gets itchy and males scratch like crazy to get it off. From underneath emerges a clean, smooth antler.
Males use their antlers during the mating season as a warning to other males to stay away from females, or to woo the females. When their warnings aren’t heeded, they use them to fight the competition.
Once the mating season is over and the male no longer needs its antlers, the testosterone in its body drops and the antlers fall off. A new set starts growing almost right away.
--- What are antlers made of?
Antlers are made of bone.
--- What is antler velvet?
Velvet is the skin that covers a developing antler.
--- What animals have antlers?
Male members of the cervid, or deer, family grow antlers. The only species of deer in which females also grow antlers are reindeer.
--- Are antlers horns?
No. Horns, which are made of keratin (the same material our nails are made from), stay on an animal its entire life. Antlers fall off and grow back again each year.
---+ Read an article on KQED Science about how neuroscientists are investigating the potential of the nerves in antler velvet to return mobility to damaged human limbs, and perhaps one day even help paralyzed people:
https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2016/12/06/rudolphs-antlers-could-help-restore-mobility-in-injured-humans/
---+ For more information on tule elk
https://www.nps.gov/pore/learn/nature/tule_elk.htm
---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:
The Sex Lives of Christmas Trees
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEji9I4Tcjo
Watch These Frustrated Squirrels Go Nuts!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUjQtJGaSpk
This Mushroom Starts Killing You Before You Even Realize It
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl9aCH2QaQY
---+ See some great videos and documentaries from PBS Digital Studios!
The REAL Rudolph Has Bloody Antlers and Super Vision - Gross Science
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB6ND8nXgjA
Global Weirding with Katharine Hayhoe: Texans don't care about climate change, right?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_r_6D2LXVs&list=PL1mtdjDVOoOqJzeaJAV15Tq0tZ1vKj7ZV&index=25
It’s Okay To Be Smart: Why Don’t Woodpeckers Get Concussions?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqBxbMWd8O0
---+ Follow KQED Science:
KQED Science: http://www.kqed.org/science
Tumblr: http://kqedscience.tumblr.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kqedscience
---+ About KQED
KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media.
Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is also supported by HopeLab, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED.

The killer punch of the mantis shrimp is the fastest strike in the animal kingdom, a skill that goes hand in hand with its extraordinary eyesight. They can see an invisible level of reality using polarized light, which could lead to a breakthrough in detecting cancer.
SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt
DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe and meet extraordinary new friends. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.
* NEW VIDEOS EVERY OTHER TUESDAY! *
Aggressive, reef-dwelling mantis shrimp take more than one first-place ribbon in the animal kingdom. Outwardly resembling their lobster cousins, their colorful shells contain an impressive set of superpowers.
There are two types of mantis shrimp, named for their attack mode while hunting prey: smashers and spearers. With their spring-loaded, weaponized legs, these predators can crack a snail shell or harpoon a passing fish in a single punch.
The speed of these attacks has earned the mantis shrimp one of their world records: fastest strike in the animal kingdom.
Scientists are finding that another of their special abilities -- incredible eyesight -- has potential life-saving implications for people with cancer.
Mantis shrimp can perceive the most elusive attribute of light from the human standpoint: polarization. Polarization refers to the angle that light travels through space. Though it’s invisible to the human eye, many animals see this quality of light, especially underwater.
But mantis shrimp can see a special kind of polarization, called circular polarization. Scientists have found that some mantis shrimp species use circular polarization to communicate with each other on a kind of secret visual channel for mating and territorial purposes.
Inspired by the mantis shrimp’s superlative eyesight, a group of researchers is collaborating to build polarization cameras that would constitute a giant leap for early cancer detection. These cameras see otherwise invisible cancerous tissues by detecting their polarization signature, which is different between diseased and healthy tissues.
--- How fast is the mantis shrimp punch?
Their strike is about as fast as a .22 caliber rifle bullet. It’s been measured at 50mph.
--- What do mantis shrimp eat?
The “smasher” mantis shrimp eat hard-shelled creatures like snails and crabs. The “spearers” grab fish, worms, seahorses, and other soft-bodied prey by impaling them.
--- Where do mantis shrimp live?
In reefs, from the east coast of Africa to the west coast of Australia, and throughout Indonesia. A few species are scattered around the globe, including two in California.
---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:
https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2016/11/15/the-snail-smashing-fish-spearing-eye-popping-mantis-shrimp/
---+ For more information:
Caldwell Lab at U.C. Berkeley: http://ib.berkeley.edu/labs/caldwell/
---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:
Nature's Scuba Divers: How Beetles Breathe Underwater
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-RtG5Z-9jQ
Sea Urchins Pull Themselves Inside Out to be Reborn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak2xqH5h0YY
---+ See some great videos and documentaries from the PBS Digital Studios!
Physics Girl: The Ultraviolet Catastrophe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXfrncRey-4
Gross Science: What Sound Does An Ant Make?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yif0c0bRA48
---+ Follow KQED Science:
KQED Science: http://www.kqed.org/science
Tumblr: http://kqedscience.tumblr.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kqedscience
---+ About KQED
KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media.
Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is also supported by HopeLab, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED.

The Peruvian Amazon is a dangerous place when you're small. So the young Inga tree hires ants as bodyguards to protect its vulnerable leaves. Their pay: delicious nectar served up in tiny ant-sized dishes. But will the ants keep up their end of the bargain?
SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt
DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.
* NEW VIDEOS EVERY OTHER TUESDAY! *
For some, ants are welcome guests. In the Amazon rainforest of Peru, a type of tree called the Inga actively encourages ants to stick around.
The tree, which is related to plants that produce beans and other legumes, grows tiny structures near the base of its leaves, called nectaries, that secrete a sugary fluid to feed to the ants. In turn, the ants serve as bodyguards, protecting the Inga and its nectaries from invading herbivores.
“Plants have all kinds of defenses, but because Inga leaves are not as toxic as many other plants,” says Suzanne Koptur, a professor of biology at Florida International University, “they’re good food for herbivores of all sizes and shapes, from big mammals like sloths and monkeys to little invertebrates like caterpillars.“
The rainforest is especially dangerous for young trees. The branches and leaves of mature trees merge together high in the air forming a canopy. Young trees on the forest floor struggle to get enough light. Young trees also have fewer leaves, and losing even a few to herbivores can threaten their survival.
They may be small, but few species want to tangle with the aggressive and territorial big-headed ants.
"Ants have powers in numbers, especially if they bite and sting," says Koptur.
The ants keep most herbivores, especially hungry caterpillars, away from the young trees. Simply put, the trees provide nectar to the ants in exchange for protection.
--- What is mutualism?
In biology, mutualism refers to a relationship between two organisms that benefits both of parties. Mutualism is one type of symbiotic relationship.
--- What are caterpillars?
Caterpillars are the larvae of butterflies and caterpillars. Young caterpillars hatch out of eggs, eat, grow and molt. They eventually pupate inside their cocoons and then emerge as winged adults.
--- What is plant nectar?
Nectar is a sugary liquid secreted by plants through structures called nectaries. Nectaries are commonly found in flowers to attract pollinators. Some plants also have extra-floral nectaries located outside of the flowers. To attract animals including ants and predatory wasps that protect the plant from herbivores.
---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:
https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2016/11/01/the-double-crossing-ants-to-whom-friendship-means-nothing/
---+ For more information:
Interactions Among Inga, Herbivores, Ants, and Insect Visitors to Foliar Nectaries
http://faculty.fiu.edu/~kopturs/pubs/MVbookIngaAnts.pdf
---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:
Winter is Coming For These Argentine Ant Invaders
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boyzWeHdtiI
Where Are the Ants Carrying All Those Leaves?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6oKJ5FGk24
This Vibrating Bumblebee Unlocks a Flower's Hidden Treasure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6oKJ5FGk24
---+ See some great videos and documentaries from the PBS Digital Studios!
It's Okay to Be Smart: Why Don't Ants Get Stuck In Traffic?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkiuw0HbRq4
Gross Science: The World's Most Expensive Fungus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV4WHFU2Id8
---+ Follow KQED Science:
KQED Science: http://www.kqed.org/science
Tumblr: http://kqedscience.tumblr.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kqedscience
---+ About KQED
KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate based in San Francisco, serves the people of Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial media. Home to one of the most listened-to public radio station in the nation, one of the highest-rated public television services and an award-winning education program, KQED is also a leader and innovator in interactive media and technology, taking people of all ages on journeys of exploration — exposing them to new people, places and ideas.
Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is also supported by HopeLab, the David B. Gold Foundation, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED. macro documentary

Termites cause billions of dollars in damage annually – but they need help to do it. So they carry tiny organisms around with them in their gut. Together, termites and microorganisms can turn the wood in your house into a palace of poop.
SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt
DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.
* NEW VIDEOS EVERY OTHER TUESDAY! *
Termites such as dampwood termites use their cardboard-like poop pellets to build up their nests, turning a human house into a termite toilet. “They build their own houses out of their own feces,” said entomologist Michael Scharf, of Purdue University, in Indiana.
And while they’re using their poop as a building material, termites are also feeding on the wood. They’re one of the few animals that can extract nutrients from wood. But it turns out that they need help to do this.
A termite’s gut is host to a couple dozen species of protists, organisms that are neither animals, nor plants, nor fungi. Scientists have found that several of them help termites break down wood.
When some protists are eliminated from the termite’s gut, the insect can’t get any nutrition out of the wood. This is a weakness that biologists hope to exploit as a way to get rid of termites using biology rather than chemicals.
Louisiana State University entomologist Chinmay Tikhe is working to genetically engineer a bacterium found in the Formosan termite’s gut so that the bacterium will destroy the gut protists. The idea would be to sneak these killer bacteria into the termite colony on some sort of bait the termites would eat and carry back with them.
“It’s like a Trojan Horse,” said Tikhe, referring to the strategy used by the Greeks to sneak their troops into the city of Troy using a wooden horse that was the city’s emblem.
The bacteria would then kill the protists that help the termite derive nutrition from wood. The termites would eventually starve.
--- How do termites eat wood?
Termites gnaw on the wood. Then they mix it with enzymes that start to break it down. But they need help turning the cellulose in wood into nutrients. They get help from hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of species of microbes that live inside their guts. One bacterium, for example, combines nitrogen from the air and calories from the wood to make protein for the termites. A termite’s gut is also host to a couple dozen species of protists. In the termite’s hindgut, protists ferment the wood into a substance called acetate, which gives the termite energy.
--- How do termites get into our houses?
Termites can crawl up into a house from the soil through specialized tubes made of dirt and saliva, or winged adults can fly in, or both. This depends on the species and caste member involved.
--- What do termites eat in our houses?
Once they’re established in our houses, termites attack and feed on sources of cellulose, a major component of wood, says entomologist Vernard Lewis, of the University of California, Berkeley. This could include anything from structural wood and paneling, to furniture and cotton clothing. Termites also will eat dead or living trees, depending on the species.
---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:
https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2016/10/18/these-termites-turn-your-house-into-a-palace-of-poop/
---+ For more information:
University of California Integrated Pest Management Program’s web page on termites:
http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7415.html
---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:
How Mosquitoes Use Six Needles to Suck Your Blood:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD8SmacBUcU
For These Tiny Spiders, It’s Sing or Get Served:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7qMqAgCqME
Where are the Ants Carrying All Those Leaves?:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6oKJ5FGk24
---+ See some great videos and documentaries from PBS Digital Studios!
It’s Okay To Be Smart: The Donald Trump Caterpillar and Nature’s Masters of Disguise
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTUCTT6I1TU
Gross Science: Why Do Dogs Eat Poop?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3pB-xZGM1U
---+ Follow KQED Science:
KQED Science: http://www.kqed.org/science
Tumblr: http://kqedscience.tumblr.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kqedscience
---+ About KQED
KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media. macro pest control

Male jumping spiders perform courtship dances that would make Bob Fosse proud. But if they bomb, they can wind up somebody's dinner instead of their mate.
SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt
DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe and meet extraordinary new friends. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.
* NEW VIDEOS EVERY OTHER TUESDAY! *
During courtship, the male jumping spider performs an exuberant dance to get the female’s attention. Like a pint-sized Magic Mike working for twenties, he shimmies from side to side, waves his legs, and flaps his front appendages (called pedipalps) in her direction.
If she likes what she sees, the female may allow him to mate. But things can also go terribly wrong for these eight-legged suitors. She might decide to attack him, or even eat him for lunch. Cannibalism is the result about seven percent of the time.
These mating rituals were first described more than 100 years ago. Their study took on a new dimension, however, when scientists discovered that the males also sing when they attempt to woo their lady loves.
By rubbing together their two body segments, equipped with a comb-shaped instrument, the males create vibrations that travel through the ground. The female spiders can “hear” the male songs through ear-like slits in their legs, called sensilla.
A male spider’s coordination of the dance and the song seems to affect his reproductive success — in other words, his ability to stay alive during this risky courtship trial. But what exactly the signals mean remains mysterious to scientists.
Scientists ultimately hope to understand how a female decides whether she’s looking at a stud — or a dud.
--- Where do jumping spiders get their name?
Jumping spiders don’t spin webs to catch food. They stalk their prey like cats. They use their silk as a drag line while they hop around.
--- What do jumping spiders eat?
Jumping spiders are carnivorous and eat insects like flies, bees, and crickets.
--- Where do jumping spiders live?
A map of jumping spider habitat looks like the whole world! Tropical forests contain the greatest number, but they live just about everywhere, even the Himalayan Mountains.
---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:
https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2016/10/04/for-these-tiny-spiders-its-sing-or-get-served/
---+ For more information:
Elias Lab at U.C. Berkeley: https://nature.berkeley.edu/eliaslab/
---+ More great Deep Look episodes:
This Vibrating Bumblebee Unlocks a Flower's Hidden Treasure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZrTndD1H10
The Ladybug Love-In: A Valentine's Special
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-Z6xRexbIU
---+ See some great videos and documentaries from the PBS Digital Studios!
Idea Channel: Do You Pronounce it GIF or GIF?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmqy-Sp0txY
Gross Science: Are There Dead Wasps In Figs?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DQTjv_u3Vc
---+ Follow KQED Science:
KQED Science: http://www.kqed.org/science
Tumblr: http://kqedscience.tumblr.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kqedscience
---+ About KQED
KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media.
Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is also supported by HopeLab, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED.

Conceived in the open sea, tiny spaceship-shaped sea urchin larvae search the vast ocean to find a home. After this incredible odyssey, they undergo one of the most remarkable transformations in nature.
SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt
DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.
* NEW VIDEOS EVERY OTHER TUESDAY! *
Every summer, millions of people head to the coast to soak up the sun and play in the waves. But they aren’t alone. Just beyond the crashing surf, hundreds of millions of tiny sea urchin larvae are also floating around, preparing for one of the most dramatic transformations in the animal kingdom.
Scientists along the Pacific coast are investigating how these microscopic ocean drifters, which look like tiny spaceships, find their way back home to the shoreline, where they attach themselves, grow into spiny creatures and live out a slow-moving life that often exceeds 100 years.“These sorts of studies are absolutely crucial if we want to not only maintain healthy fisheries but indeed a healthy ocean,” says Jason Hodin, a research scientist at the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Laboratories.
http://staff.washington.edu/hodin/
http://depts.washington.edu/fhl/
Sea urchins reproduce by sending clouds of eggs and sperm into the water. Millions of larvae are formed, but only a handful make it back to the shoreline to grow into adults.
--- What are sea urchins?
Sea urchins are spiny invertebrate animals. Adult sea urchins are globe-shaped and show five-point radial symmetry. They move using a system of tube feet. Sea urchins belong to the phylum Echinodermata along with their relatives the sea stars (starfish), sand dollars and sea slugs.
--- What do sea urchins eat?
Sea urchins eat algae and can reduce kelp forests to barrens if their numbers grow too high. A sea urchin’s mouth, referred to as Aristotle’s lantern, is on the underside and has five sharp teeth. The urchin uses the tube feet to move the food to its mouth.
--- How do sea urchins reproduce?
Male sea urchins release clouds of sperm and females release huge numbers of eggs directly into the ocean water. The gametes meet and the sperm fertilize the eggs. The fertilized eggs grow into free-swimming embryos which themselves develop into larvae called plutei. The plutei swim through the ocean as plankton until they drop to the seafloor and metamorphosize into the globe-shaped adult urchins.
---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:
https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2016/08/23/sea-urchins-pull-themselves-inside-out-to-be-reborn/
---+ For more information:
Marine Larvae Video Resource
http://marinedevelopmentresource.stanford.edu/
---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:
From Drifter to Dynamo: The Story of Plankton | Deep Look
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUvJ5ANH86I
Pygmy Seahorses: Masters of Camouflage | Deep Look
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3CtGoqz3ww
The Fantastic Fur of Sea Otters | Deep Look
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxqg_um1TXI
---+ See some great videos and documentaries from PBS Digital Studios!
It's Okay To Be Smart: Can Coral Reefs Survive Climate Change?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7ydNafXxJI
Gross Science: White Sand Beaches Are Made of Fish Poop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SfxgY1dIM4
---+ Follow KQED Science:
KQED Science: http://www.kqed.org/science
Tumblr: http://kqedscience.tumblr.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kqedscience
---+ About KQED
KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media.
Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is also supported by HopeLab, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED.

What do you do if you are a tiny caddisfly larva growing up in a torrent of water and debris? Simple. You build a shelter out of carefully selected pebbles and some homespun waterproof tape.
SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt
DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe and meet extraordinary new friends. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.
* NEW VIDEOS EVERY OTHER TUESDAY! *
We already mimic them to make fly-fishing lures. But now scientists believe copycatting one tiny insect could hold promise for repairing human tissues and setting bones.
Instead of stitches and screws, doctors may soon call on the next generation of medical adhesives — glues and tape — to patch us up internally.
The inspiration? Caddisflies, a type of stream-dwelling, fish-baiting insects that live in creeks all across the United States.
As a larva, the caddisfly constructs a tiny tube-like house for itself, called a case, entirely underwater, using pebbles and its incredible homespun tape as the mortar.
Thanks to the qualities of this amazing silk, the case not only holds up when submerged, it is strong enough to protect the caddisfly’s soft lower body amid forces many times its body weight.
Any tape, including this one, has two basic components: the flat ribbon, or backing, and the layer of sticky stuff, or the glue. From the materials science standpoint, caddisfly tape is extraordinary in both departments.
Caddisfly silk biomimicry is only in its infancy, but one day, a similar compound might be used inside the body, which is another watery environment, to mend soft tissues and even repair hard ones, such as teeth and bone.
In the streambed, or brook, the caddisfly’s case eventually becomes a cocoon. Like its land-based cousins, the butterflies and moths, from whom it diverged 250 millions years ago, the caddisfly larva undergoes a metamorphosis. It seals up its case with a so-called “hat stone” and emerges months later as a winged adult.
--- Where do caddisflies live?
Caddisflies are most common in shallow, cold, turbulent streams, where the water is highly oxygenated.
--- What do caddisflies eat?
Caddisflies are herbivores, they eat decaying plant matter and algae on the rocks in the streams where they live.
--- What is so special about caddisfly silk?
Engineers are interested in two attributes of caddisfly silk. First of all, it can bond to something, such as a pebble, underwater, which no glue people have made can replicate. Second its “viscoelastic” properties allow to it harmlessly absorb physical forces. When stretched, it doesn’t snap back like a rubber band. It returns to its original shape slowly and safely. It's an engineering marvel.
---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:
https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2016/08/09/sticky-stretchy-waterproof-the-amazing-underwater-tape-of-the-caddisfly/
---+ For more information:
Troutnut.com
http://www.troutnut.com/hatch/12/Insect-Trichoptera-Caddisflies
---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:
This Vibrating Bumblebee Unlocks a Flower's Hidden Treasure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZrTndD1H10
These Carnivorous Worms Catch Bugs by Mimicking the Night Sky
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLb0iuTVzW0
---+ See some great videos and documentaries from the PBS Digital Studios!
It's Okay to Be Smart: Venom: Nature’s Killer Cocktails
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd92MuVZXik
Gross Science: Sea Turtles Get Herpes, Too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpqP9bUUInI
---+ Follow KQED Science:
KQED Science: http://www.kqed.org/science
Tumblr: http://kqedscience.tumblr.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kqedscience
---+ About KQED
KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media.
Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is also supported by HopeLab, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED.

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Rare: Creatures of the Photo Ark DVD

RARE: CREATURES OF THE PHOTO ARK Renowned National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore is a natural-born storyteller. His Photo Ark project is a digital "collection" of the world's rare and at-risk mammals, fish, amphibians, birds, reptiles, and insects, and the focus of RARE - Creatures of the Photo Ark. This captivating series follows Sartore as he documents threatened species in the wild, at zoos, and in nature preserves. Throughout RARE, scientists and naturalists reveal surprising and important information about why ensuring the future of these animals is so critical.
Most days, Sartore has the best job in the world; from prankish semi-habituated lemurs crawling over him in Madagascar to a 500-pound, 150-year-old giant tortoise refusing to get ready for his close-up, or an elusive bunny taking refuge near an active U.S. Navy airstrip, it's all in a day's work! Sartore knows he is in a race against time. Sometimes he is able to photograph 30 to 40 species in a few days. Others are disappearing before he can get to them. Sartore likes photographing the smallest creatures for the Ark because they're often more important to the health of an ecosystem than the big ones. RARE looks at factors driving extinction, including deforestation, rising sea levels, invasive species, pollution, and human development, which all impact creatures essential to the world's ecosystems.
And Sartore has seen how photos can lead to change. His images of parrots in South America and koalas in Australia prompted local governments to protect them. In the U.S., coverage of the Photo Ark has helped to save the Florida grasshopper sparrow and the Salt Creek tiger beetle. Journey with Sartore across the globe - to Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania - to chronicle his experiences as he seeks to inspire people to want to protect the many species of our planet.

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Earth’s Natural Wonders DVD

Earth's Natural Wonders explores the most extraordinary places on the planet and how their environments shape the lives of those who live there. From Mount Everest's Khumbu Icefall to the Amazon to the Grand Canyon, visit six continents to learn how these natural wonders evolved and hear the rarely told stories about the challenges their inhabitants face.

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Nature’s Great Race DVD

Natures' Great Race Every year, millions of animals embark on epic journeys on an astonishing scale, crossing hostile landscapes, traveling hundreds of miles, overcoming fearsome obstacles, and facing intense dangers and voracious predators in a race to reach their destination. Follow three iconic animals - caribou, elephants, and zebra - on three of the world's most breathtaking wildlife adventures, journeying across hundreds of miles of Canadian arctic wilderness and African bush.
Every decision could mean life or death, and for the first time ever, watch the animals every step of the way. Using the latest tagging technology, the scientific team tracks individual animal journeys precisely, ensuring that camera teams on the ground can follow and film key animals, capturing all of the action, the close calls, the successes, and the failures. Uncover the true driving forces that compel these animals to risk everything, and why they must win these great races.
This DVD features subtitle in English (SDH)

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Great Yellowstone Thaw: How Nature Survives DVD

Great Yellowstone Thaw Yellowstone is one of the most remarkable places on the planet. It's home to North America's most iconic wildlife, and every year these animals must survive the Thaw - one of the harshest seasonal changes on Earth. Temperatures can swing from minus 40°F in winter to almost 100°F in summer. To understand how the animals cope with this range, and to witness the effects of our changing climate, this series is following the Thaw during 2016 - a year when the unpredictable weather broke new records. Geologist Kirk Johnson is joined by a team of scientists and wildlife cameramen to capture the wildlife dramas as they unfold over the course of the Thaw. Watch as they analyze the impact on individual families of wolves, grizzly bears, beavers, and great gray owls.